Helminski, Camille Adams 1951–

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Helminski, Camille Adams 1951–

PERSONAL: Born October 16, 1951, in Jacksonville, FL; daughter of Moulton Lee (an artist) and Mildred (Stockton) Adams; married Kabir Edmund Helminski (a publisher), October 19, 1974; children: Matthew, Shams, Cara. Education: Smith College, B.A., 1973.

ADDRESSES: Home—RFD 4, Box 600, Putney, VT 05346. Office—The Threshold Society, 270 Quarter Horse Lane, Watsonville, CA 95076.

CAREER: Threshold Books, Brattleboro, VT, codirector, 1981–. The Threshold Society, founder and codirector, 1985–; ALIF International, vice president, 1992–.

MEMBER: National Association for Female Executives, National Organization for Women, Wilderness Society, Audubon Society, Amnesty International.

WRITINGS:

(Translator with Edmund Kabir Helminski) Maulana Jalal al-Din Rumi, Rumi—Daylight: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance, Threshold Books (Putney, VT), 1990.

(Translator with Helminski and Ibrahim Al-Shihabi) As'ad Ali, Happiness without Death: Desert Hymns, Threshold Books (Putney, VT), 1991.

(Translator with Refik Algan) Ahmet Hilmi, Awakened Dream: Raji's Journeys with the Mirror Dede, Threshold Books (Putney, VT), 1993.

(Compiler) The Light of Dawn: A Daybook of Verses from the Holy Quran, Threshold Books (Brattleboro, VT), 1998.

(Compiler and translator) Jewels of Remembrance: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance: Containing 365 Selections from the Wisdom of Rumi, Shambhala (Boston, MA), 2000.

(Compiler) The Light of Dawn: Daily Readings from the Holy Quran, Shambhala (Boston, MA), 2000.

(With others) The Mevlevi Wird: The Prayers Recited Daily by Mevlevi Dervishes, Threshold Society (Soquel, CA), 2000.

(Compiler and editor) Women of Sufism: A Hidden Treasure, Shambhala (Boston, MA), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Camille Adams Helminski is an author, scholar, and practitioner of the Mevlevi tradition of Sufism. She is cofounder and director, with her husband, Kabir, of the Threshold Society, a nonprofit educational foundation that offers seminars and training in Sufism—the mysticism of Islam—and the works of renowned Sufi poet and teacher Rumi.

In Jewels of Remembrance: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance: Containing 365 Selections from the Wisdom of Rumi, Helminski compiles and translates a collection of Rumi's works, one for each day of the year, that explore his theological concepts of the complete person on a quest to reunite with the "Beloved," Rumi's name for Allah or God. A Publishers Weekly critic called the book a "sparkling collection" that will "refreshen for today's readers the liveliness, wit, and sensuousness of Rumi's transcendant vision" of religion and Sufism.

Helminski explores an important historical element of Sufism in Women of Sufism: A Hidden Treasure. This book consists of a diverse selection of writings from numerous women who participated in Sufi mysticism during several periods of Islamic history. Covering the seventh century to the present day, the volume contains poems, journal entries, scholarly essays, and other writings from women who made a valued contribution to their religion. Contributors include women from the Prophet Muhammad's family as well as contemporary practitioners and scholars. Helminski includes information on the women's religious experiences as well as general material on the customs and traditions of Sufism. Reviewers Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, writing on the Spirituality & Health Web site, called the book "a luminous anthology," that "reveals the depth and breadth of spiritual riches within this mystical tradition."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Bookwatch, October, 2003, review of Women of Sufism: A Hidden Treasure, p. 12.

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, May, 1992, C.W. Ernst, review of Happiness without Death: Desert Hymns, p. 1400; March, 1994, W.L. Hanaway, Jr., review of Awakened Dreams: Raji's Journeys with the Mirror Dede, p. 1137.

Library Journal, March 1, 2003, Naomi Hafter, review of Women of Sufism, p. 95.

Publishers Weekly, May 13, 1996, review of Jewels of Remembrance: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance: Containing 365 Selections from the Wisdom of Rumi, p. 68.

Reference & Research Book News, May, 2003, review of Women of Sufism, p. 18.